Centrist think tank: Sanders would help rich, not poor

Sen. Bernie Sanders' plan for expanding Social Security would channel more cash to rich Americans than to the poor, the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way says in a new report obtained by POLITICO.

Third Way, which has been critical of Sanders' presidential bid, says a bill the Vermont senator and Democratic presidential candidate introduced last year would give the wealthiest fifth of Americans billions of dollars more in new benefits than it would give the poorest fifth of the population.

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“The new benefits in the Sanders proposal are substantially tilted toward the wealthy,” said the report by Jim Kessler, a former staffer for Sen. Charles Schumer, and David Brown.

Third Way, whose leaders include former officials from the Obama and Clinton administrations, has been warning for months that Sanders' candidacy is bad for Democrats, including in a December piece in POLITICO.

Today's report argues the tax increases needed to pay for more Social Security benefits under Sanders' plan would exceed the cost of other Democratic priorities, such as education and infrastructure spending. And the tax increases would not be enough to stop Social Security from going insolvent, it said.

“Put simply, the trust fund would be projected to expire 25 years sooner than it should under a responsible plan,” the report said.

A Sanders spokesman said "It is disappointing, but not surprising that a group that has been heavily financed by Wall Street would attack Senator Sanders plan to expand and extend Social Security benefits for all Americans.

"Third Way was wrong to support massive cuts to Social Security," the spokesman said, "And it is wrong to mislead the American people today."